Decoding strategies for turbo product codes in frequency-hop wireless communications

Alternative decoding methods are described and evaluated for use with a commercial turbo product code chip that is employed for error control on slow-frequency-hop spread spectrum wireless communications. One strategy is based on parallel decoding in two independent decoders, and another employs a single encoder with adaptive scaling of the sift decisions at its input. Performance results for such decoding strategies are compared for packet transmissions over channels with partial-band interference. When coupled with the development and use of side information in the frequency-hop receiver, these decoding strategies greatly enhance the performance of turbo product codes and make them competitive with parallel-concatenated turbo convolutional codes.